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Today I had the privilege of hearing and meeting a living legend, the 90 year old Bob Dorough. This puts me one degree away from Miles Davis. Check it out and you’ll see. It caused me to remember this SotW posting I originally made on May 30, 2009, soon after Blossom Dearie had passed away. I wanted to repost it to share my appreciation for this great man and jazz musician.

The song of the week is “I’m Hip” in it’s definitive version by “jazz pixie” Blossom Dearie. The song was written by Bob Dorough (music) and Dave Frishberg (lyrics) in the late 50s as the “demolition of a namedropping bohemian poseur” (Stephen Holden – NYT).

Dearie was known for her distinctive, girlish voice and pageboy haircut. Her crisp, impeccable delivery and an irrepressible sense of playful swing are perfect for this song (even though it’s sung from a distinctly male point of view). This version was recorded Live at Ronnie Scott’s in 1966. Sadly, Dearie died on February 7th, 2009, in her apartment in Greenwich Village. She was 84.

The Dearie/Dorough/Frishberg collaboration went beyond “I’m Hip”. All three were involved with some of the best songs in the early 70’s, ABC “Schoolhouse Rock!” series. Dorough wrote and performed about 30 of the songs, including “Three Is a Magic Number” (my favorite). Dearie sang “Figure Eight” and Frishberg wrote “I’m Just a Bill.” Kids are still learning from those songs 35 years later.

Enjoy… until next week.